Stabbing deaths leave horrified city to wonder ‘Why?’

Eva Ferguson, Calgary Herald04.20.2014

The house on Butler Crescent NW in Brentwood where five students were murdered earlier in the week. The crime scene in the neighborhood was collapsed to encompass only the immediate property Thursday April 17, 2014.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

The house on Butler Crescent N.W. in Brentwood where five students were murdered earlier in the week. Matthew de Grood, an invited guest to a party celebrating the end of university classes, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Emma Hunter and Emilie Letourneau place flowers at the shrine outside the Brentwood house where five students were murdered earlier in the week.Ted Rhodes
/ Calgary Herald

Zackariah Rathwell, one of the victims of Tuesday’s mass slaying in Brentwood, was a talented musician who helped form the up-and-coming band Zackariah and the Prophets.Facebook
/ Calgary Herald

Kaiti Perras, one of the victims of Tuesday’s mass slaying in Brentwood, loved ballet and inspired other to dance.Family photo
/ Calgary Herald

Josh Hunter, one of the victims of Tuesday’s mass slaying in Brentwood, was a business student and talented musician who was the drummer for local band Zackariah and the Prophets.Facebook
/ Calgary Herald

Lawrence Hong, one of the victims of Tuesday’s mass slaying in Brentwood, was set to complete an urban studies course at the University of Calgary this spring.Fairy Tales Film Festival
/ Calgary Herald

Matthew De Grood, shown in a Global TV screen grab in the back of an ambulance after his arrest, is charged with five counts of first-degree murder.Global Calgary

Joshua Hunter, 23, who studied business at the U of C, was passionate about playing drums with his funk-rock band and loved to entertain.

Zackariah Rathwell, 21, was a “budding artist” who studied at Alberta College of Art & Design, and helped create the popular quartet Zackariah and the Prophets.

Kaitlin Perras, 23, had studied English at Mount Royal University, loved ballet and inspired others to dance.

Lawrence Hong, 27, was taking urban studies at the U of C and was expecting to finish this spring.

And Segura, 22, a religious studies student at U of C, loved cars, Ska music, and worked part-time in a funeral home.

Kristen Pat, who met Hunter, Perras and Segura at Bishop Carroll High School — where they graduated together in 2009 — says a love of music and art bonded the group together.

“They were all artists. They stuck together all the time,” she says. “And they partied together, always at Jordan’s place.”

_____

Only a day earlier, Segura and Foltinek spent Sunday hanging out, sharing plans about the summer after the end of a long academic year.

Segura, who was vice-president of an events club for religious studies at the university, was looking forward to a job at a summer camp on Vancouver Island, Foltinek recalls.

But with finals on the way and last-minute assignments still to be handed in, Foltinek remembers his friend was glad to have received an extension on a complicated history paper — analyzing the Arab-Israeli conflict.

After finishing a late breakfast Monday at his rental home in Brentwood, settling in with a group of about 10 pals, the Segura headed to the U of C campus, where festivities were underway for Bermuda Shorts Day.

Foltinek says his friend didn’t spend much time on campus or revel in the afternoon beer gardens, a BSD tradition in which students dress up in tacky shorts and printed shirts.

“He wasn’t really into all that, he just handed in the paper and went back home.”

Foltinek, a first-year student studying philosophy and urban studies, dropped off his own assignments that day, checking in with professors and then heading to work at the Analog coffee shop.

“I’m not really into that Bermuda Shorts Day stuff either.”

As the day progressed, Jordan remained with friends at his Brentwood rental home, where a quiet gathering led to an early evening bonfire and beers in the backyard.

“It’s not like there was loud music or they were boisterous or anything,” neighbour Doug Jones said later.

“They were just talking, politics, investments, laughing and chuckling. There were three to four groups of four to five people, chatting away and having a good time.”

Across the city at Crowfoot Safeway, Matthew de Grood was working a shift at the grocery store.

The 22-year-old, who’d graduated with a bachelor of science degree in psychology from the U of C last year, had taken a few months off of school to work.

“He seemed like the kind of guy that if something went wrong, you could count on him because he would do whatever he could to help you,” says Scott Santucci, who worked with de Grood for two years at Safeway and went to school with him from elementary to high school.

He graduated from St. Francis High School in 2009, and de Grood posted on his Facebook page that he’d been accepted to law school starting in the fall.

Several friends and acquaintances remember him as a quiet, happy-go-lucky guy with a bright future.

His father, an inspector with the Calgary Police Service, says his son received good grades in school, was involved in sports and helped raise money for charities through running.

“Our Matthew is a great kid, full of love, kindness and respect for others,” Doug de Grood told reporters Thursday. “He had a bright future ahead of him.”

Still, others were worried about him.

In fact, de Grood’s behaviour had seemed to change in the weeks leading up to Monday’s party.

Another co-worker noticed the young man was quieter than normal recently, but thought de Grood was simply busy.

His Facebook postings became more frequent — sometimes “five or six posts in an hour,” says another former classmate — and bizarre, though not violent or offensive, in nature.

“It was abnormal from Matt,” says the classmate, who requested his name not be used. “It wasn’t just posting political stuff, he was almost going on rants. In the comments section on Facebook he would reply to himself like he was having a conversation.

“It wasn’t anything offensive that would set off alarms . . . it was just talking about legal stuff and political . . . just general observations.”

A status update posted on de Grood’s Facebook profile Monday night, hours before the stabbings, read: “Dread and the fugitive mind — the world needs a hero.”

The first phrase is a song by Megadeth; the second is the album it appeared on.

But de Grood appears to have removed from his Facebook page the “dozens and dozens” of earlier posts.

“It’s safe to say he scrubbed it before the incident happened,” adds the classmate. “He made (his Facebook page) look the way it did deliberately.”

Like Foltinek, de Grood was invited to the party at the house on Butler Crescent.

Police are unsure what time he arrived, but chief Hanson says de Grood showed up wearing his Safeway smock with a box cutter tucked inside.

A close friend of the de Grood family said Matt’s parents were concerned about him the night he attended the party.

“They got some strange texts from him. They (the texts) were really disjointed and strange enough that they were worried for his safety,” says a police officer who knows the family.

His mother, Susan, called police to alert them to the fact she was worried about her son possibly being suicidal, the officer said.

“There was no indication that (Matt) was going to hurt anyone, not ever, but obviously the texts were strange enough that they were alarmed enough for Matt’s safety that Doug went out looking for his son.”

___

For the city’s police chief, the early morning hours of Tuesday were sleepless, one of those nights when he was tossing and turning, unsure why.

Out of boredom, Hanson got out of bed to check his phone at 4 a.m.

Among the briefing notes often sent to the chief detailing the night’s events, one stood out.

“It said 10-32 times 3. In police speak, that means three dead bodies,” says Hanson.

Two-and-a-half hours earlier, police had responded to a call from inside the Brentwood house.

Officers soon arrested a suspect a few blocks away. There was a struggle and he had to be subdued by a police dog.

Television cameras captured a young man being wheeled on a stretcher into an ambulance, a wound visible on his left side, his eyes shut.

Later in the morning, unaware what had happened at the party, Foltinek also began his day checking his phone.

It was filled with texts and messages about an incident at Segura’s house and the party he was invited to attend just a few hours earlier.

Confused and unable to reach Segura, he made his way to the house.

Upon arrival, the bespectacled university student peered over yellow police tape, hoping to speak with an officer.

But he left unsuccessful and sat quietly in the driver’s seat of his car. The door remained open, his feet planted on the road, as Foltinek held a cigarette with eyes glued to his phone.

He stayed close for several hours, watching, waiting, with still no word.

Across the rest of Calgary, as residents headed to school and work under the dull grey skies of the early morning Tuesday, the scale of the tragedy became apparent.

Five dead.

The worst mass murder in the city’s history.

“Every Calgarian is shaken to the core by the loss of good young people just getting started in their lives,” Mayor Naheed Nenshi declared.

Police swarmed the site, the backyard marked with scattered cans and bottles, a blue folding chair knocked over near a barbecue. Blood stained the screen door and front steps.

Officers interviewed some 20 youths believed to be inside the home at the time of the crime; investigators — and a city watching the scene unfold — struggling to comprehend what could motivate someone to create such carnage.

“The community is asking us how can this happen and why,” says Hanson. “I wish I had this pearl of wisdom to impart to parents that would guarantee that this would never happen again. But I don’t and I can’t.

“These were good kids, in a safe place. But, then, suddenly this happened.”

___

All five victims had bright futures and appeared well on their way to great things.

Rathwell, a young man with a wide smile and long wavy hair, was finishing his first year at the Alberta College of Art and Design.

“He was just so talented — he was an amazing singer, his drawing skills and painting skills, everything,” said friend Corlia Zaayman.

The passionate musician also sang and played guitar with Zackariah and the Prophets, along with drummer Josh Hunter, who was also killed in the mass slayings.

The up-and-coming band was making waves in the local music scene and had just released their new EP Goodnight Icarus on Saturday at a sold-out show at the Palomino.

The remaining bandmates have since disbanded the group.

Hunter was studying at the University of Calgary’s Haskayne School of Business and was working toward a Bachelor of Commerce degree, with a major in accounting.

He had worked as a bartender’s assistant at CRAFT Beer Market and as a concierge at the International Hotel Suites, where he was planning to return to work this summer.

“He was known for his smile. I’ve never seen him without a smile on his face, whether he was angry or sad,” said friend Mitchell Cooper, who met Hunter six years ago and had busked with him at Prince’s Island Park in the past.

Hong was known for his love of fashion, cuisine and for his volunteer work with numerous organizations, including the Calgary Folk Music Festival and Calgary Fairy Tales Queer Film Festival.

Friends described him as a snazzy dresser who was quick to dole out style tips.

Hong was excited to graduate from the University of Calgary’s urban studies program this year and had recently discussed his plans after graduation, said friend Tasha Hickie, who has known Hong since childhood.

“I don’t know if that meant landscape or roads. . . . He definitely had the brain for design,” she said.

Perras had studied English at Mount Royal University, and also worked at Anthropologie, a women’s clothing store, and Briggs Kitchen + Bar.

Brad Taylor, owner of the downtown restaurant, said Perras was always buzzing with energy and “consistently positive.

”Ballet was also a huge part of her life and her passion inspired her friends to be better dancers.

“She’s the reason I pursued ballet like I did,” said Kaitlyn Harris, who danced with Perras at Counterpoint Dance Academy in Marda Loop.

Segura had just finished his third year of religious studies at the University of Calgary, and was the vice-president of events for Gnosis, the undergrad club for religious studies majors.He was remembered as a “gentle soul” whose smile could light up a room, said former colleague Kristen McCracken.

He had been working at McInnis and Holloway since last summer, continuing part-time through the school year, with plans to return to full time in a few weeks.

Staff members at the funeral home now have the difficult task of planning Segura’s memorial service, to be held Monday.

As the snow falls on a quiet Good Friday, the police maintain a presence at the blue and white split-level in Brentwood, though much of the yellow tape has come down and now only surrounds the home’s perimeter.

Remnants of McDonald’s takeout remain scattered on the front path of the home.

A steady stream of mourners continues to visit the Brentwood home, where a makeshift memorial continues to grow, piling up with flowers, notes, stuffed animals and other mementoes.

Many arrive with bouquets, although one mourner has erected a stone angel statue and another has installed solar lamps so the memorial is illuminated at night.

Most leave with tears in their eyes or rolling down their faces.

Among the visitors to the site throughout the week was Foltinek.

Stoic, silent, alongside two other friends, they laid flowers and paid tribute to the dead.

“I knew them all. I knew all those kids who died. But it was Jordan I was closest to,” he says.

“I don’t know why anyone would want to do anything like this to those that were killed. It just doesn’t make sense.”

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